Losers Live Out Fake College Fantasies
by Miriflowers
Summary: Twilight Town University isn't exactly a normal college. Then again, the students aren't exactly normal either... College/Band/Coffee Shop AU all rolled into one. Deal with it. B) Riku/oc, Demyx/oc, Sora/Kairi, Roxas/Namine, Axel/Xion(?), Terra/Aqua. Told from the perspectives of the two OCs. Kind of a crack fic, but there might be plot later on. Collab w/ ponster.
1. Chapter 1

12:03

Roxas woke up late for his last day of classes before finals. It didn't matter too much that he was missing it because they were reviewing that day and he was the type of person that made decent grades without having to study that much (something his bandmates always cursed him for). It was simply a fact of life. The only downside was that he was also one of the sleepiest people to ever exist. He was cool with that.

Looking at the clock earnestly this time around, Roxas realized that he could still make it to one of his classes. Grudgingly, he rolled out of bed, running a hand through his messy blonde hair in a half-hearted attempt to flatten a few cowlicks. It wasn't very effective, but he didn't notice, so it didn't really matter.

Ten minutes later, piece of toast in mouth as he trudged through the campus, Roxas made his way to advanced calculus with barely one eye open. It was pure luck that the first innocent bystander that he crashed into was Demyx.

"'Sup, sleepyhead," the blonde guitarist chuckled, ruffling a hand through Roxas' already very, very messy hair, "Late for class or something?"

Roxas cracked open an eye to glare up at his much taller bandmate, but the effect was ruined by the sleepy gunk in the corners of his eyes. Demyx, being the benevolent upperclassmen that he was, held back his laughter so as to not hurt the poor boy's feelings.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,' then," Demyx said, easily breaking the awkward silence that followed as he began to walk away, "Don't forget about practice before the big show tonight! Someone might actually show up to hear us play this time!"

Being the little shit that he was, Roxas simply scurried off to class without a word. That guy had issues.

~0~0~0~

12:41

Demyx looked down at his watch lazily. He had an off period in which he had promised himself that he would study. In reality, he decided to drop by the campus coffee shop to see if his favorite barista was on the clock. Humming one of the songs he had written for that night's end-of-semester concert, he swept into the shop, making one hell of an entrance.

"Greetings, friend," he said, sidling up to the counter before she could scurry away, "What's the special today?"

"Knock it off, Demyx, I have a newbie in the back that we're training to be ready for flex term," Xion sighed without any bite, organizing a display of treats on sale for the evening crowd. She looked tired those days, as if a little rain cloud was following her around not raining enough to soak her to the bone but just enough to make her feel a little soggy around the edges. Being the doting older brother figure that he was, Demyx was out of his mind with worry.

"What's eating you, shrimp?" he asked sincerely, then tried to play it off "Boy troubles? Do you want me to beat him up?"

Despite the fact that it was a pretty shitty attempt, it still made her laugh and punch his shoulder in such a disgustingly chummy, cute way that it made any innocent bystander want to hurl. The newbie decided to let them know in the most polite way she knew how.

"Hey, I thought PDA was a no-no, boss. What gives?" she asked. Demyx cocked an eyebrow at the new recruit. She was even shorter than Xion, yet he could practically feel waves of sarcasm seeping out of her skin and fanning out to fill the room. It was ruining his zen.

"Only if it's not with a paying customer, my young padawan," Demyx said, shaking his head, "It seems like you have a lot to teach little missy here, Xion my friend."

"I have a name," the newbie tried to interject, but no one cared.

"She does have a point though, Dem, I am on the clock," Xion said, instantly in business mode, "Buy something or scram, you ungenerous hobo."

"I'm wounded," he deadpanned before mentally checking his pocketbook, "Thing is, I'm broke, so I can't exactly prove you wrong either. Catch you later."

As Demyx was leaving (ahem, waltzing) out of the shop, the newbie, who was by then thoroughly ticked off, couldn't help but glare his receding form (which did admittedly look pretty fabulous). Still, she had a job to do, as she reminded herself. Soon after, she was back to her normal self and almost got the end of the day without being reminded of the irksome encounter. Almost.

~0~0~0~

5:36

May groaned and buried her head into her keyboard in a fit of despair. The stress was killing her. She was going to die before these tests ever came around, and no one would be at her funeral because all of her friends lived overseas. Then again, maybe her guild would have a memorial for her…? Nonsense, she told herself, furiously typing a few more lines of code, they wouldn't even know she was gone, since she didn't have any irl friends to notify them of her untimely demise. The thought of that forced her to collapse into her textbooks yet again, this time for longer. At this rate, she wouldn't even survive the night! A knock at the door startled her out of her stress-induced coma. Curiously, she dragged herself out of her chair at the Desk of Doom.

"Yeah?" May asked, opening the door. There stood her one and only roommate and best friend, who was just getting back from her first day at a new job in the campus coffee shop.

"Get this bag for me, friend, my hand is about to fall off," she groaned, handing off said bag to her friend of many years.

"Cat, will you agree to notify my guild in case I die trying to finish my code by tomorrow? I'll give you my login and everything," May chattered, setting the bag on the table before rifling through its contents idly, "Your new job has nice benefits, by the way, is this coffee really from Sumatra? Classy."

"Pfft, it's their fault you're so behind anyways, I don't see why you owe it to them," Cat said, "You're almost done anyways, you just get nervous the night before big deadlines."

"I don't see how that's relevant right now, dude, I am currently dying, and you can't even be bothered to give a shit. I'm hurt."

Rubbing her forehead a little bit, Cat tried not to snap. She loved May and everything, but she was just so out of it that day. Luckily, May caught on pretty quickly.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked softly, feeling her friend's forehead, "At least you aren't running a fever. Do you want some chocolate? I think there's still half a bar in the fridge if you want me to go check."

"Yo, that sounds pretty great actually," Cat admitted, "I think I'll go get it later, though, I need to lay down for a while. Go finish your code. For real this time. And stop freaking out about your guild, they let you have a week off, remember?"

"Yes, mom," May groaned, ruffling the shorter girl's hair, much to her chagrin, "When you wake up, do you want to go down to the Pub? I heard they had some kind of end-of-semester thingadoodle planned and I feel like trying to beat my high score on Ms. Pac Man."

"Whatever, man, just let me sleep, geez," Cat sighed, plonking down on the couch and snuggling into the pre-made blanket nest. She watched a few minutes of TV before passing out to the sound of some novella rerun and the aggressive typing coming from May's desk.

~0~0~0~

8:25

Cat caught sight of May's bright wristwatch glowing in the low light of their apartment as she felt herself being shaken awake. She took a lazy breath and was immediately assaulted with the smell of the chocolate bar that she had laid dibs on earlier. Wordlessly, she chomped down and brought a hand from under the blanket to rub her eyes sleepily.

"Knew that would get you up," May giggled before yanking off the blankets like the tyrant she really was on the inside. Tears welled up in Cat's eyes as she curled up into a ball and chewed mournfully on the chocolate bar.

"C'mon, I want to make it there before all the partiers get there and skank up the arcade area."

While Cat understood this, she still found it hard to forgive her friend and kept grunting out sarcastic comments about literally everything. Instead of being really offended, May was impressed. This, of course, was not the effect Cat really desired, so when they got to the Pub, she was in such a state of distress and anger that what happened next didn't surprise her a single bit.


	2. Chapter 2

8:55

Cat nearly glared at the clock as she sipped her apple juice peevishly. May had invited her over to watch her try to beat the high score on Ms. Pac Man, but she had declined. Everything was just pissing her off, and as much as she loved her friend, she realized that if she was forced to sit and watch her attempt to dodge ghosties all night long, she would probably snap and go on a killing spree. She took another aggressive sip of her apple juice, taking a look around the bar for something to do. May had said something about a concert…?

"Did you really come to a bar to drink apple juice?" the bar tender chuckled, wiping the inside of a pitcher with a washcloth. Cat, caught unawares, had a large mouthful of apple juice and had to wait a few seconds before she could answer without showering the poor man.

"Yeah," she said after swallowing, "You got a problem?"

"Take it easy," he laughed genuinely, flashing her a big smile, "I was only teasing you. Is it because you aren't 21 yet?"

"Nah, son, it's 'cuz I like apple juice," she said proudly, sitting a little straighter in her chair. He laughed again, and suddenly she realized that he was really cute when he did that. Unconsciously, she blushed.

"Sure looks like it," he said easily, taking the glass from her to refill it, then placing the full glass back in front of her without spilling a drop, "On the house, 'cuz you're cute."

Cat missed the compliment completely, engrossed in the fact that the dude had just displayed mad bartender skills. She proceeded to interrogate him about it for a few minutes before a few customers walked up to the bar, and he was called away.

In only a few minutes, Cat's mood had improved significantly, and her feet started swinging under the bar, happily knocking into the counter as she sipped her apple juice. It was amazing what a difference making a new friend had made. A few minutes later, as she was taking another large sip from her apple juice, someone took a seat next to her. Awkwardly, she tried to glance around her glass, but found her vision skewed a bit. She set down the glass for a better look and came face to face with none other than that asshole from earlier. Good mood = ruined.

"Hey, newbie," he greeted casually, "Come to hear my band play?"

"A, I bet your band sucks, asshole. B, no. C, at least I have a job, you hobo," she snapped, not noticing that the bartender had made his way over to them again. Luckily, he found the whole situation hilarious.

"How'd you manage to piss her off, Demyx? You got here, what, a minute ago?" he chuckled, reaching to refill her glass. She let him take the glass from her, but kept glaring at Demyx. He just kept grinning at her like an idiot. The bartender looked between them a couple of times, then decided that perhaps apple juice was the best solution to this sticky situation.

"I like you," Demyx said after about another second of the staring contest, "Do you wanna be my friend?"

Cat was bewildered for a second, especially since the bartender had returned with her drink.

"Uh, okay," she stuttered, "but stop calling me newbie. My name is Cat."

Demyx laughed, and it sounded so freakishly natural that it might as well have been a sigh. Cat found herself blushing again. This was so awkward. She kind of wanted to go hide with May over by the arcade.

"Hey, Sora, can you get us some real drinks, please?" Demyx asked the bartender before she could make good on her plan to make a hasty retreat, "As cute as her apple juice thing is, Cat is a classy lady, and should therefore drink something equally as classy. What do you say, Cat?"

"I don't let strange men buy me drinks in bars, sorry," Cat said, a little peeved that he had insulted her beloved beverage of choice. What was wrong with apple juice anyway? She liked it just the way it was.

"I'm not that strange, I promise," he pleaded, ducking down to look her straight in the eyes. She was startled by how calm he looked, "I hear they have some pretty nice apple-flavored wines here, just in case you don't want anything too hardcore. Wine is sufficiently classy, right?"

Ducking behind her bangs to hide the blush she definitely knew was there, Cat nodded shyly. Before Demyx had the chance to really order, though, she interrupted him again.

"Wait, what's your name, though? It's kind of awkward not knowing what to call you…"

"Demyx," he said happily, smiling easily.

They sat for a few minutes like that, making small talk, before a boy with long white hair came running up to them and ordered Demyx to get his ass backstage before he was kicked out of the band. Laughing awkwardly, Demyx paid for their drinks and made her promise to stay for the show. She didn't know if she actually would or not, but the boy (who Demyx referred to as Riku) made a motion to hurry her up so she sort of panicked and agreed without really thinking. Without really wanting to stick around at the bar any longer, Cat took her apple juice and waved at Sora before retreating to the arcade.

Meanwhile, May had abandoned her dreams of beating the high score in a fit of depression, and gone back to playing the game she was actually good at: Dance Dance Revolution.


	3. Chapter 3

A thick ring of spectators surrounded the Dance Dance Revolution machine at the arcade, and Cat knew just who would be dancing in the middle.

"Excuse me…don't touch me…egh!" Cat pushed through the amused crowd with difficulty. Her apple juice had spilled a little, and she hoped that it had ruined the day of the person that (perhaps accidentally) jabbed her in the face with their elbow.

When she finally managed to make it to the front, she saw May destroying a stranger at the game. Cat never understood how it was possible to even get so involved in it, but May seemed to always get excited when she played. Cat stood on her toes to find that the song was almost over, and May had probably been playing for hours because she looked like she had jumped in a lake.

"WHO ELSE WOULD LIKE TO CHALLENGE THE GREAT MAY?!" Cat's best friend roared into the crowd once the song was over, and everyone clapped and cheered.

"You should probably take a break…and a shower," Cat snickered, dragging May off of the machine.

"Hey, you're here. You were supposed to meet me by Ms. Pac Man like two hours ago!" May said as soon as she caught her breath, "Where were you?"

"I went to the bar to find something to do. I thought of watching the concert, but then I wasn't so sure, and…" Cat blushed as she thought of her exchange with Demyx, but pushed her mind to stop as soon as possible, "Let's go back to our room, yeah?"

"But…I was killing it…" May pouted.

"It's okay, you can kill it next weekend," Cat did not wait for an answer, and pulled May out of the arcade as quickly as possible. Only then, it struck her how hot it had been inside, and she began to shiver at the random blast of cool air.

"That feels nice, eh?" May grinned. As sleepy as she looked, the high of beating countless people at DDR had not worn off yet.

Cat nodded, and began walking a little faster. She felt nervous, and did not know if it was because May looked like she would crash at any minute, or because she did not want to bump into anyone familiar.

"Are you okay?" May asked, turning Cat around to face her, "Are you…drunk?"

"What? No! You know I don't drink!"

"You just look kind of flushed…" May thought for a moment, "What exactly did you do at the bar?" The smile returned to her face as she giggled sleepily. Cat calculated that they had about 2 minutes before she couldn't walk anymore."

"I just talked to some people. Let's just g—"

"I could have sworn I made you promise that you would stay for my show," someone spoke behind the two girls.

They turned around and found Demyx with a few other guys, one which Cat recognized as Riku, the boy that had dragged Demyx away during their short conversation.

"I…had something to take care of…" Cat stuttered, avoiding Demyx's eyes.

Despite his initially hostile tone, Demyx grinned and said, "Sure looks like it."

A few of the guys behind him laughed a little, and Cat turned to find May sleeping on the floor. Cat shut her eyes, trying to keep herself from screaming before she tried to pick up her friend. She failed miserably, and more laughter came.

"Allow me," Riku said, before he picked May up from the floor and looked expectantly at Cat for directions.

"This way…" she grumbled.

May woke up to blistering headache, and the worst possible thirst imaginable. She looked around her room, and despite not remembering how she got there, she was pleased with her surroundings. Cat still had not woken up because her class wasn't until noon, and in that moment May envied her a little.

She showered and got ready for school, but no matter how much cold water she allowed to enter her eyes, she did not feel the least bit awake. She dragged her feet along the carpet, waved goodbye to her sleeping roommate and walked to class with her eyes shut.

She took the very last seat in the classroom, and lowered her head on her laptop bag for a little nap before class started. The back of her eyelids went from a murky pink, to several different swatches of color. Those swatches turned into a group of people, and a nice breeze hit her face.

_This is a nice dream, _she thought to herself. She ignored the people behind her and focused on the wind that kept making her smile. That is, before she tripped on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. It was too dark for her to be by herself, and she was alone, except for the people behind her.

"Hey, hey…" a boy shook her shoulder a little. May turned her head slightly to look at him, only to find that the scenery around her had changed, and she was back in her classroom. A boy she remembered seeing before sat next to her, his cheek resting in his hand and a smirk on his face.

"I knew I heard that snoring somewhere before," he snickered, "I'm glad you're okay after last night."

May's eyes widened so much that they almost popped out of her skull. Her face went from pale, sleepy white to the darkest shade of red.

_I must not panic; I was playing DDR last night! What could have happened that I do not remember?_

She took a few breaths before she cautiously asked, "What happened…last night…?"

"You fell asleep on the sidewalk. What were you thinking?" He laughed.

"I—what?"

Then, it came back to her. The group of people had been those boys she and Cat bumped into…she seemed to know one of them, didn't she? And she heard laughter. That laughter had come from…from those people as well. More specifically, from the boy that was now smiling in such a mellow matter that she couldn't feel confused anymore.

"Remember yet?" He sat up straight and looked to the front of the classroom. The professor had entered, and class was about to start.

"Riku? Why are you sitting so far back today?" The professor called.

May sat up as well, and was rather surprised that the professor knew the name of one student out of 200 others. She had been trying to get his attention the whole year, and yet he still thought her name was Mindy!

"Sorry, professor. I thought I'd give my peers the chance to learn from you up close. Besides, I've already read a few chapters ahead, so I'm well caught up," Riku answered brightly.

"Great things….you'll do great things. What a good kid," the professor smiled and turned to write a few notes on the whiteboard.

"How did you do that?" May whispered to Riku.

"I study, eat well, and don't fall asleep on the sidewalk after playing DDR for countless hours," he quipped, "You'd do well to follow my example."

"I study," May muttered, but left things at that. She found that the way to start following that boy's advice was to stay quiet, take notes, and perhaps postpone her next DDR tournament until further notice.


	4. Chapter 4

The second day of Cat's new job was going much better than her first had, she realized. For one thing, Xion looked a good sight happier. Another was that when Demyx dropped by, she was excited rather than annoyed.

"And how are my lovely coffee maidens this beautiful afternoon?" Demyx asked breathlessly, making his usual (but still pretty fabulous) entrance.

"We serve tea too, you know," Katia said, handing coffee to an unwitting freshmen, who attempted to scurry away without too much notice (silly freshmen), "Not that you would know, since you never buy anything."

Demyx groaned regretfully as he sauntered up to the counter, and checked his (empty) pockets. He almost wished he had a job. Almost.

"Xion told you, I suppose," he sighed, leaning down to rest his head on the counter to watch her as she worked. She cracked a smile and nodded. She fumbled a bit as she stacked the cheap, Styrofoam coffee cups, and they went spilling to the floor. Demyx winced, and her face went red.

Xion, hearing all the racket, popped her head out of the stock room only to find that Demyx had arrived and cups were strewn all over the floor. She nearly screamed, but she wasn't really that type of person. She still made Demyx and Cat pick up all of the nearly 500 cups and restock them. After she returned to the stock room, she even felt like she had done them a good turn by letting them off easy.

"I never expected Xion to be such a slave driver, no lie," Demyx whispered, scooping up a bunch of cups and placing them on the counter. A second later, Cat placed her own, smaller bunch of cups next to his and started stacking.

"I feel you, dude. I mean, she looks so cute and calm and nice up until the moment she steps into that apron. Jeez," Cat sighed, "It doesn't even make sense that we need aprons. I mean we don't even bake the treats or anything."

"I have literally been asking myself the same thing since I first came here," Demyx said, nodding his head enthusiastically.

They grinned at each other, then continued stacking cups. A few customers came in, and Cat left to help them, calling orders back to Xion casually. Demyx was surprised that she had adapted so quickly to her new job, and he said as much. She looked proud of herself.

"I used to work at this coffee shop across from my high school during the summer to save up some extra cash," she explained, obviously getting a big ego boost, "Nothing big."

Just as she finished bragging, however, she tried to reach across a few rows of neatly stacked cups and would have knocked them all over again had it not been for Demyx's reflexes. Her face flushed for the second time that day as he chuckled appreciatively. Jerkface.

~0~0~0~

Cat's shift ended at six. Demyx had stayed, even after they had all of the cups sorted and stacked properly. She was 99% sure that he had stayed just to make fun of how clumsy she was. Xion, happy that Demyx had made the newbie more relaxed, didn't object, despite the many complaints Cat had playfully yelled to the back room throughout the day.

"So where are you headin'?" Demyx asked cheerfully, following her around like a lost puppy. It was kind of adorable.

"My dorm, duh," she snorted, "I have to study for finals. Don't you?"

"Meh," he sighed, scratching the back of his neck, "I don't really study, to be perfectly honest. I cram."

"How can you live your life like that, man? There's so much stress."

"Uh, I don't know, I eat and sleep a lot-"

"Dude, you know what I meant," Cat groaned, causing Demyx to snicker.

"Yeah, I just think it's easier for me," he shrugged. Cat scrutinized him, then. He looked pretty chill about the whole thing, hair blowing lazily in the warm evening breeze. He caught her staring at him and grinned as she quickly turned away in a poor attempt to hide her blush.

"Do you wanna hang out sometime?" he asked hopefully, "You're really cool."

The simplicity of his statement got to Cat. As cheesy as it sounded, he made her feel like she was back in the kindergarten playground, more concerned with building the biggest possible Lego tower than complicated life stuff like classes or boys or looks. It was like her mouth answered for her.

"Heck yeah, man," she answered firmly, "You better get some cash first, though, 'cuz if I have to pay for everything myself, I swear I'll kick your butt. For real."

"Oh snap, I just got told," Demyx chuckled, "But sure, I can definitely handle that."

"Good," Cat nodded.

"Good," Demyx repeated.

"Please don't start copying me, dude, I thought we were above this," Cat complained idly.

"Are we really, though?" he teased, oh so casually mirroring her walk (with more than a few exaggerations that involved his hips). It wasn't lost on Cat, and they began playfully bickering all the way back to her dorm room.

By the time they got back to her dorm, it was well past six, and they both had silly grins pasted on their faces like they were born with them. They looked really dumb, but they didn't really care. As Cat closed the door, she couldn't help but giggle at his goodbye, setting her things down on the table before crashing into the blanket nest in front of the TV for a nice, long nap.


	5. Chapter 5

While Cat spent her day fawning over some guy she had just met the day before, May took naps throughout her classes (despite her desperate attempts to stay awake). During each one of her naps, she found herself thinking of Riku, and it bothered her that he wouldn't leave her alone.

_It's probably no big deal,_ she thought, _It is only because he made me question my intelligence. _

She firmly grasped her pencil in math class, her features tightening.

_Yes, it was definitely because of that. _

She sighed and took as many notes as she could, and still, her mind went back to Riku. She tried to ignore it. She tried to deny it. She even tried to make her thoughts focus on the symbols on her paper that looked foreign instead of looking like they did the day before.

"This sucks," she muttered to herself. She did not have any intention of befriending Riku, yet she couldn't keep herself from wishing she could see him again. Maybe she just wanted a tutor?

_I like that better. _

She nodded to herself and scribbled down more notes. After her satisfactory excuse, she needed no more. Her eyes opened wide and she was able to understand what the professor was saying. Life was normal, and now all she had to worry about was doing the countless homework assignments that she had been given that day.

As soon as class was over, May rushed out of the classroom and ran to her dorm. She felt sick, hungry, and could not wait until she could stick a pillow under her head. Her eyes were beginning to shut again and she feared that the incident of the previous night would repeat itself, and this time, while she was conscious of it.

She dropped a few papers, and her laptop almost flipped out of its bag twice, but she managed to keep herself up and off the concrete. She saw the building get closer, but just like that, she also saw the arcade.

May stopped for a moment and thought about going back in there, just for a few quick games. As much as she loved playing games on her own consoles, it was always more fun when her high scores were displayed on the bright, cheap screens for everyone to see.

"You're not thinking of going in there, are you?" Someone chuckled behind her, "Surely, you haven't forgotten my advice from earlier."

May's face turned red as she came face to face with the first and last person she wanted to see. Riku smiled brightly at her, holding his own books in front of his body, but more easily than May did.

"Did I strike a nerve?" Riku tilted his head to one side.

"No, I've just been outside for too long. You know how we pale people can't be in the sun or we'll fry…" she laughed nervously and began walking again.

"Is that why you only go out at night and hide in the arcade? I saw how you looked at those poor arcade games…like fresh bait," he commented calmly, but could not hide his amusement, "you're really into that stuff, eh?"

"You could say that. I just prefer to be appreciated by other people rather than JUST my professors," May shot back, just as calmly.

"My dear, that is just an act. Everyone knows that the more you suck up to your professors, the easier you pass without needing to study," Riku stated as if it were that simple, "It really does give me more time to play in my band and take someone out to play in the arcade on Friday."

The invitation just flew past May, and instead, she was excited about the good news, "So…you're not smart?" She smiled so big that Riku almost wondered if he had made a joke or not.

The tall boy pursed his lips and pulled his books closer to his chest, "Well, I definitely am not stupid if I could figure that out before you did."

May stayed quiet and continued to walk, ignoring Riku's existence altogether as she pondered on her newly found information.

So, Riku wasn't smart! Not only did it mean that the teacher did not care about the existence of smart students as long as they talked to him, but it meant that May was still the smartest person in her class. She sighed happily, and added a small skip in her step from the excitement.

Then, another thought struck her.

Why, if she had found that she was not being challenged, did she still have that nervous little knot in her belly? She glanced down at her stomach.

_I haven't eaten since last night. _

Yeah, that had to be it.

"So, how about it?"

"What?" May snapped out of the thoughts and finally focused on the matter at hand: whatever Riku had just said.

"Would you like to go grab a snack?" Riku smiled, and May froze.

She hadn't been asked to go "grab a snack" by any boy since she was back in elementary school. Now, this boy she had just met was asking her to "grab a snack?"

Was there any hidden meaning behind said snack, and, if so, would it be something that would make her uncomfortable?

She bit her lip as she tried to reason things out, but before she could formulate a response, Riku tightened his hand around her wrist and said, "Let's go."

_I can't believe I did that…_

May dragged her feet along the hallway that led to her room. Despite the brightness of the building, it was dark outside. Hours had gone by since she had finished her last class, and yet she was barely getting home. She could not believe herself.

Not only did she get lunch with a complete stranger, but she felt as if she might have flirted a little bit with him. What did people consider flirting nowadays? Was it anything physical? Even so, May still considered herself a decent young lady, since she had only said "your hair is nice."

"Was that too straight-forward?" May mumbled under her breath, "I wonder what he meant by thanks…did he think I was weird? Perhaps I should have said more rather than just running away after it was over."

She fought herself until she got to her room, where Cat was just then waking up from her long and comfortable nap.

"Hey, May," she giggled, "Dude, that rhymes."

"Yeah," May nodded.

She then dropped her laptop bag, books, and everything else at the door before she rushed to her bed and stuck her face in her pillow. She wanted some well-deserved sleep.

"Did you have something to do after class? It's like…what…9?" Cat mumbled as she stood up and strolled over to the refrigerator for some food, "You want some eggs for dinner?"

"I'm not hungry," May said quietly and tried to find a comfortable sleeping position.

"What? You haven't eaten since last night. Speaking of that, you reek of coffee," Cat laughed, "Bet you had to drink a lot of that after your DDR session."

May said nothing, and finally stopped tossing and turning in bed. She shut her eyes tightly and waited to drift into a dream as she had done the whole day, but it never came. Instead, she felt something attack her and found Cat sitting on her legs.

"You're awfully quiet," Cat poked May's leg, "What's wrong?"

"Just tired…" May yawned.

Cat tilted her head and took a deep breath, "That coffee smell. It's still fresh…and you must have just come back since I didn't see you while I was working. You went!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! You went with someone! Right? You're all red and look like you regret every decision you have ever made. You went with a guy!"


	6. Chapter 6

_I don't have anything to hide, _May thought to herself at night. Despite Cat's constant questioning, May decided to deny the idea that she had indeed been on a date with the boy in her History class.

"Come on, May," Cat had said, still sleepy, "you've got date written all over you."

It hadn't been a date. It had just been grabbing a snack, but the more that May told herself it wasn't a date, the more she wanted to believe that it had been a date. Still, it would have been nice if the date hadn't ended so awkwardly, with her running away, dropping her cellphone in the process.

_I'll ask Cat to keep an eye out for it. _

"I'm going to work," Cat called out to her best friend that was still hiding under the covers, "I suggest you don't go to class today."

May heard footsteps and soon, the blanket that was protecting her from the outside world was removed, only to reveal a red-faced Cat, who was wearing an awfully big smile on her face.

"You know that band you said would have a concert the other day? They're having another show, and I'd like to hear them play," Cat said, a little nervously, "I was hoping that you could go with me. I wouldn't like to go by myself."

"Do I have to?" May groaned, covering her sleepless eyes.

"Of course. If I'm by myself, people may even think that I do not have a best friend," Cat grinned and pulled the blanket over May again, "Be ready by 6, please."

"Alright-y," May mumbled as she curled up into a ball, and finally managed to shut her eyes.

The hours went by faster than she had intended them to. Before she knew it, the clock showed that it was 5, and she hadn't even had breakfast yet. She stood up slowly, and found herself feeling much better than she had the day before.

She stuck some instant noodles into the microwave for lunch, and managed not to blow anything up. Soon, she was fed, and well-rested, but she was not any closer to getting ready.

Cat opened the door and gasped at the sight of May, "Dude! You were supposed to be ready already!"

"You're not ready," May commented.

"I've got my clothes ready. Seriously, don't laze around!" Cat kicked off her shoes and ran into the bathroom for a shower.

May shook her head and went to greet her closet. She thought about wearing what she had worn the day before, but then realized that someone from class might see her. Instead, she stuck to a new pair of jeans that Cat had forced her to get, and a nice t-shirt that fit her comfortably.

"I'm ready," she said to herself before she sat in front of the computer to catch up on what she may have missed in classes. She wrote a few responses to the class discussions for the day, and got started on her homework. She would have almost finished if it weren't for Cat coming out of the bathroom, wearing a dress May had never seen before.

"Woah, what's up with you?" May laughed loudly.

"What, does it look bad?" Cat glanced down at the dress, and smoothed out the skirt a little bit.

May shook her head, "No, but why are you so dressed up?"

"Dressed up? It's a casual dress," Cat pouted, "Does it look like I tried too hard?"

_Yes, _May thought to herself.

"No!" May smiled, "It's just a rare sight to see you in a dress, so I just wondered what the occasion was."

"Occasion?" Cat shook her head quickly, "No occasion! I was just in the mood to enjoy the nice weather outside with a comfortable dress."

May looked outside. It was already dark, and the moon wasn't even out. Instead, it hid behind the thick clouds that promised a thunderstorm, and many more weeks of winter. Still, May did not want Cat to change out of something she wanted to wear, so she pretended that she did not notice how hard Cat was trying to look nice.

"You should wear a dress," Cat skipped off to her closet and pulled out yet another dress May hadn't seen yet, "We're about the same size, although this may be a little shorter than it was intended to be."

"I don't have a reason to dress up," May mumbled, but the dress was pretty.

"Yeah, you do. What if you see that guy you went on a date with? You'll feel better about what mess you made yesterday," Cat reassured her.

In the end, May agreed, and was glad that she had. The dress fit her a lot better than she thought it would, and it definitely made her feel ready if she saw Riku.

The two girls left their room not long after 6, and neither one of them questioned each other about dates or strange actions during their walk to the bar.

The bar was fuller than it had been the other night, and Cat was thankful for that. Despite wanting to see Demyx, she was really embarrassed about liking someone she had just met as much as she did, and she did not want to have to explain her new crush to May. She wanted to stay low, but May had other plans.

"Hey, let's go get a drink or something. A good friend of mine works here, and I'm sure he could get us some free juice," May nodded towards the bartender Cat remembered seeing the other day.

_Oh no. He's going to tell her!_

Before Cat could answer, May had already skipped over to see her friend, and was making conversation.

"May! It's been a while," Sora smiled warmly, greeting her with a hug.

"Heck yeah, it has! I've just been so busy, you know how it is," May shook her head. Cat inched closer and stood behind May, but did not want to come into sight, just in case Sora recognized her out of all the people he'd seen before.

"Of course, must be hard being a genius, I'd assume," the bartender agreed as he mixed a few drinks. He then noticed someone hiding behind May, and it caught his attention, "Who's this?"

"This?" May turned and pushed Cat forward, "This is Cat, my best friend and roommate."

Sora's eyes immediately widened and he laughed loudly, "Apple juice girl! You're back!"

"My name is Cat," the shorter girl mumbled as she finally took a seat.

"You two know each other?" May asked, rather confused since she didn't know Cat even drank at the bar.

"Yeah, she came in here the other day, and asked for apple juice," he grinned, "She and Demyx were flirting pretty hard."

There it was, the moment of truth.

"Demyx?" May was confused once more.

"Hey, Cat!" A tall boy May didn't recognize sat next to Cat, "How's it going? I thought you weren't going to come."

"I said I'd come, you idiot," Cat huffed, but it was obvious that she was blushing.

"You said you would stay last time, so I wasn't so sure," Demyx smiled, "I'm glad you came though. I would knock Styrofoam cups down on purpose at the café if you didn't."

May watched the scene for a moment, feeling confused, yet happy that Cat had found someone, even if she didn't want to talk about him before. She looked around in order to give the two a moment of their own, and something caught her eye. It was Riku, setting up some instruments on the stage.

Riku noticed May and looked at her, winking. May looked away immediately and denied the fact that she had even seen that.

"What was that?" Sora smirked, nudging May in her arm.

"Nothing, just…nothing," she shook her head, "Just get me something to drink."

May didn't even wait until the show had started to ditch. Her barely-touched beer sat sweating on one side of the DDR machine while she angrily stomped the right arrow to choose her song. Nothing seemed to appeal to her, however, so she just kept scrolling angrily. After about three minutes of this, she slumped down, looking pretty defeated. Riku, who had just finished setting up the stage for the band's performance that night, noticed. Frowning, he hopped off the stage and made his way over to her.

"You look pretty bummed out for someone who's supposed to be a beast at this game," he remarked. May looked over her shoulder lazily, then jumped when she realized who it was.

"I think it's just because I finally realized that all of these songs suck major ass," she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck apologetically. Riku took a seat on the dance pad next to her and tried to ignore the fact that they were scrolling through songs with their butts.

"That's never gotten you this down before, though," he chuckled, lips curling into an extremely distracting smirk that drove her a little bit more insane than she had been a minute ago, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Cheapskate," she teased, trying to play off the fact that she was blushing like an entire tomato farm's crops had been emptied onto her face all at once.

"I'll buy you a drink?" he offered hopefully.

"I already have one, actually," she snorted, gesturing over to her sorry-looking beverage that lay abandoned on the far side of the machine. Riku took this observation as a challenge, downed the drink, and looked back to May with a look of extreme self-congratulation. May narrowed her eyes.

"You win this round," she admitted, taking his hand and standing up to walk over to the bar, "but I'll have my revenge. An elephant never forgets."

"But you're not an eleph-"

"That's irr-elephant," May deadpanned. Riku stopped their advance on the bar to glare at her for a few seconds to see if she had any remorse. The cocky grin on her face betrayed none. He mourned her sense of humor.

"You are dead to me," he said dramatically. This caused her to break down into a giggle fit the likes of which she hadn't been subject to in quite some time. By the time they finally made it to the bar they both had silly grins that were so stubborn they wouldn't come off for another good two hours. Sora, being a secret but nevertheless hardcore matchmaker, decided to keep his badgering to the minimum for that night, but promised himself that he would release the metaphorical hounds soon enough.

"Yes…" he chuckled subtly yet manically from his stool, polishing one of the bar's large mugs obsessively with his ever-present rag, "Soon."

May and Riku stopped their drinking game to stare at their mutual friend oddly. Luckily for Sora, they were too drunk to care when he played it off by not-so-subtly whistling and getting back to polishing in an all-too-vigorous manner.


End file.
